An Audience With a Former Kumari Living Goddess in Nepal

NEPAL, December 29, 2023 (The National News by Stuart Butler): The Kumari is a young Newari girl who is believed to have been possessed by the Goddess Taleju (Durga); the Newari are the people of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. She is worshiped by Newari Buddhists and Hindus as a manifestation of divine female energy. Always a young girl, the…

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Banaras Hindu University’s 1916 Book on Basic Hinduism

KAUAI, HAWAII, December 30, 2023 (HPI): A reader sent us the link (below) to this manuscript. It is in English and intended for youth 12 to 18 or so. The book is easy to read and covers all the basic of Hinduism. From the introduction: “The Board of Trustees of the Central Hindu College has laid down the following principles…

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Music on the Streets of Mylapore: Why Carnatic Vocalist Saketharaman Is Celebrating an Age-Old Tradition

CHENNAI, INDIA, December 20, 2023 (The Hindu): It’s exactly 6 a.m. at Mada Street in Chennai’s Mylapore, and school children dressed as various mythological characters are getting ready to perform. Popular Carnatic vocalist Saketharaman gives them the cue, and the group begins walking along the road, singing Margazhi Thingal, a verse from the Thiruppavai. Even as Mylapore wakes up to…

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Meet Chennai’s Instrument Makers

CHENNAI, INDIA, December 20, 2023 (The Hindu): Come December, and Chennai springs to life with the sound of Carnatic music. Sabhas — as performing spaces are referred to — come alive, as vocalists and instrumentalists put forth their best performances, dishing out popular and rare kritis and varnams. It’s not just the city’s rasikas who look forward to this Margazhi…

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In India, There’s an App for Everything. Even Dream Babies.

INDIA, December 16, 2023 (New York Times): Want to raise a child with the business acumen of the industrial tycoon Ratan Tata, the concentration powers of the spiritual guru Swami Vivekananda, the scientific brilliance of the nuclear hero A. P. .J. Abdul Kalam and — of course — the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi? In India, there is an…

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Hinduism Today Releases New Video: Students Visit a Buddhist Temple

KAUAI, HAWAII, December 16, 2023 (HPI): “A Visit to the Los Angeles Hompa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple” created by Hinduism Today was published on YouTube today. Funded by Uberoi Foundation, it is intended to assist in the presentation of the Buddhist religion in California 6th grade social studies classes. The ten-minute video is hosted by Rimban William Briones who describes the…

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Ruined Hindu Temple in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir Set for Minor Repairs to Outer Wall

SRINAGAR, December 13, 2023 (Times Now News): Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) authorities began to repair the damaged boundary wall of Shardha Peeth a day after Home Minister Amit Shah registered a complaint about it. Kashmiri Pandits have also raised the issue of Shardha Peeth with the PoK Civil administration. Shardha Peeth Temple, situated in Neelam Valley of PoK, is an ancient…

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Christianity Is Disappearing in England, As Seen in Maps

GREAT BRITAIN, December 15, 2023 (Atlas Obscura): October 25, 2022 has been called Britain’s “Obama Moment”: On that day, Rishi Sunak became the country’s first ever non-white Prime Minister. But Britain’s current head of government represents an even bigger change. As a practicing Hindu, Sunak also is Britain’s first non-Christian PM. And although Sunak won his post via an internal…

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India’s Pilgrimage Paradox: Booming Infrastructure Meets Deteriorating Temple Experiences

INDIA, December 14, 2023 (Swarajya): India’s break-neck infrastructure development spree and increasing levels of prosperity have allowed more and more yatris to go on their favorite pilgrimages. Nobody expects better facilities or improved temple going experiences at any of the ancient, large temple complexes in India. Maladministration of heritage spaces is almost always a given, but we may be entering…

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Official launch of Hindu Chaplaincy by HCA.

AUSTRALIA, December 13, 2023 (Hindu Council of Australia): The Hindu Chaplaincy course, “The Graduate Diploma in Counselors of Hindu Tradition” (CHT) is now recognized by the Chaplaincy body of NSW, College of Clinical Pastoral Education as equivalent to the Chaplaincy Course offered by them. This means that people from the Hindu community now do not need to do any extra…

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